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Arkansas is an unranked team that just took a unanimous top 10 team to overtime on a neutral field. Texas A&M possesses what is universally considered one of the most powerful offenses in the nation, and Arkansas held them to 28 points in regulation - just 14 points in the middle 56 or so minutes of game time.
Not only is Arkansas still well outside the top 25, the Hogs actually lost more than two-thirds of their votes in the Coaches Poll (Arkansas did gain nine votes in the AP Poll - up to 18).
I know the polls are essentially meaningless now from the standpoint of crowning a national champion, the voters actually watch few games during the day, and the polls are really only still done for reasons of tradition and click-bait, but they're still the standard of respect in the college football world. The perception of a team ranked 20-25 compared to an unranked team can be significant.
Through the first five weeks of the season, I think Arkansas' resume warrants more consideration. For instance, Oklahoma State is ranked basically just because they played Florida State close in Week 1. Their next best win is beating Texas Tech at home by 10. Arkansas also played a good team close on a neutral field, but beat Texas Tech in Lubbock by 21. Missouri lost at home to Indiana. TCU claimed the last spot in both polls by beating Samford, Minnesota, and coachless SMU. South Carolina has now lost twice at home (looking vastly worse vs A&M than Arkansas), looked unimpressive in wins, and they're the second team out of the poll receiving far more votes than the Razorbacks.
But until Arkansas breaks through and beats somebody more respectable than Texas Tech, voters apparently will still look at Arkansas with the taste of 2012 and 2013 in their mouths. The Hogs certainly have more than their share of opportunities over the next two months to do that.
| AP | Coaches | Sagarin | |
| 1 | Florida State | Alabama | Alabama |
| 2 | Oregon | Florida State | Oklahoma |
| 3 | Alabama | Oklahoma | Oregon |
| 4 | Oklahoma | Oregon | Auburn |
| 5 | Auburn | Auburn | Texas A&M |
| 6 | Texas A&M | Baylor | UCLA |
| 7 | Baylor | Texas A&M | Georgia |
| 8 | UCLA | Notre Dame | Baylor |
| 9 | Notre Dame | UCLA | Florida State |
| 10 | Michigan State | Michigan State | Stanford |
| 11 | Ole Miss | Ole Miss | Michigan State |
| 12 | Mississippi State | Georgia | Notre Dame |
| 13 | Georgia | Stanford | LSU |
| 14 | Stanford | Mississippi State | USC |
| 15 | LSU | LSU | Ole Miss |
| 16 | USC | Wisconsin | Wisconsin |
| 17 | Wisconsin | Nebraska | Ohio State |
| 18 | BYU | Ohio State | Kansas State |
| 19 | Nebraska | BYU | Florida |
| 20 | Ohio State | USC | Clemson |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | East Carolina | Oklahoma State |
| 22 | East Carolina | Kansas State | South Carolina |
| 23 | Kansas State | Oklahoma State | BYU |
| 24 | Missouri | Arizona State | Mississippi State |
| 25 | TCU | TCU | Texas |
